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Polish Parliament to Honor President in Special Session

   VOA News 13 April 2010
   Picture  of  late  President  Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria lay in
   front of the presidential palace in Warsaw

Photo: AFP

   Picture  of  late  President  Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria lay in
   front  of  the  presidential  palace  in  Warsaw during arrival of the
   coffin with the body of First Lady, 13 Apr 2010

   Polish  lawmakers  meet  today  for a special session of Parliament to
   honor President Lech Kaczynski and other high-ranking Polish officials
   killed in a plane crash late last week.
   The  body of Poland's first lady, Maria Kaczynska, was flown to Warsaw
   Tuesday  to lie in state alongside her husband.  Mr. Kaczynski's body
   was  returned  Sunday.   Their  coffins  will  be  on  display at the
   presidential palace in Warsaw.
   Officials  said  a memorial service for all victims of the plane crash
   will  be  held  on Saturday, and a state funeral for Mr. Kaczynski and
   the first lady will follow.
   Poland's acting president is expected Wednesday to announce a date for
   presidential  elections.  Bronislaw Komorowski is serving in the post
   until the new election, which must take place within two months.
   The  Polish  jetliner  carrying  the president and an entourage of top
   military officers and political leaders went down Saturday outside the
   Russian  city  of Smolensk while trying to land in dense fog.  All on
   board were killed.
   The Kaczynski entourage was going to Russia for a memorial service for
   22,000  Polish military officers and others executed under orders from
   Soviet dictator Josef Stalin at the onset of World War II.
   Others  killed  in the plane crash include the chief of Poland's armed
   forces,  the  director  of  the  central  bank  and the deputy foreign
   minister.   Another  who  perished  was  Ryszard  Kaczorowski,  a  90
   year-old  former  president-in-exile  from  World  War  II  until  the
   collapse of communism 50 years later.
   Russian  investigators  say  they have not found evidence of technical
   problems with the Soviet-built (TU-154) jetliner.  Russian television
   says the probe is focusing on pilot error as a possible cause.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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